io9: Let’s start with the new book, Tortall: A Spy’s Guide. Why do this kind of in-world expansion/set of information?

Tamora Pierce: People are always asking me—and if not me, friends of mine who know the universe well—details that don’t normally get included in the books, or details of story that haven’t come out yet. I was talking with my editor at Random House about just a basic dictionary or travel guide, or something of the sort that would have just bits and pieces that people would like that was pretty much insider information. I’d seen that there were several books of that kind that had come out at that point and I thought, “Yeah, we can do this.” That was my first mistake.

Earlier in October, Tammy spoke with Unbound Worlds at NYCC 2017. In addition to talking about the writing process, she speaks frankly about the feminist themes in her books:

I write female heroes, by and large, and I write female characters taking action when action is needed. I write female characters undertaking tasks that are often described as tasks women can’t do. I write realistically as I can how they would go about undertaking those tasks in a way that people in our world would understand without ringing any false notes. I was raised a feminist. My mother was a feminist.

Last week, bestselling author Leigh Bardugo interviewed Tammy for Parnassus Books’s AuthorsIRL blog. The two go into the world of Tortall, the writing process, and the future of Tammy’s books– and the YA genre as a whole:

As times have changed, I’ve tried to bring more variety in my characters to my books. It’s important that readers feel part of my universes—there’s too much exclusion and battering in this one.

In a recent interview with Re:Fiction, Tammy discusses her experiences as an author, from the beginnings of her career to the writing process itself. For writers everywhere, Tammy’s advice is to:

Keep writing. If one idea gives out on you, go to work on another. The more you do, the longer your work will get, and the better it will get, until you’re finishing projects. Write what entertains you. That will keep you working on a project.

“Fantasy is the realm of idealism,” Pierce said. “Science fiction is the realm of the future. We can game out how the future is going to grow from the seeds we have now. But fantasy is about idealism, is about justice, is about the effects of the rule of law, is about the effects of tyranny, is about the effects of poverty; and we put these things in fantasy so that readers don’t feel preached at.”

Congrats to Julie Holderman, Tammy’s longtime assistant and co-author of Tortall: A Spy’s Guide, for her win in the 2017 Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest! In her recent interview with Script Magazine, Julie discusses the writing process, her winning screenplay, and her beginnings as a student (and, later, a teacher) at the Alpha Workshop. About her script:

It follows two young female science students in 1890s Chicago, after the murder of their teacher. In trying to find out who killed her, they discover her shady dealings with one of Chicago’s foremost businessmen. They have to choose whether or not to bring him to justice for her murder, exposing their teacher and ruining their own future careers, or staying silent. He’s very invested in making sure they can’t say a word.

In “How ‘Harry Potter’ Saved Young Adult Fiction,” Tammy and other authors, publishers, and sellers of children’s books reflect on the Harry Potter series, from its rapid rise in popularity to its lasting impact twenty years later. Happy 20th Birthday to the Boy Who Lived!

(Also featured in the article is Peter Glassman, founder of Tammy’s favorite bookstore, Books of Wonder!)

She has a strong sense of justice and hard work, and is always a champion for her friends. She apprentices to an older blacksmith, Frostpine, who teaches her skilled and magical metalwork, and eventually becomes a master of her craft.

In later books, as she grows older, she also falls in love with a woman, and this is treated as perfectly normal. Having grown up with Daja, her friends and their adventures, this was absolutely wonderful and unprecedented for childrens’ series at the time.

About Me

I was born in South Connellsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 1954, which makes me a Sagittarius, if you believe in such things. For those who look to Eastern tradition, I was born in the Year of the Horse. My mother wanted to name me “Tamara,” but the nurse who filled out my birth certificate had never heard of such a fancy name (we are talking Pennsylvania coal country in the 1950s), so she misspelled it, and I legitimately became Tamora (pronounced like “camera”). I actually like it better than Tamara, which means “graceful” and “a palm tree,” and is the name of a Russian saint. I am none of these things.

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